Longtime NFL, college coach Greg Robinson dies at age 70

Longtime college and NFL coach Greg Robinson died on Wednesday. He was 70 years old.

Robinson’s son Dominic confirmed the news to Syracuse.com, saying his father died from a form of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Robinson, who spent nearly 40 years coaching at the college and professional levels, won two Super Bowl rings as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, one of three NFL franchises who employed him in that role. Robinson’s defenses helped the Broncos win back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. In the 1997 playoffs, Robinson’s defense allowed only 18 points per game. In 1998, it allowed just 10.7 points per game.

Robinson also served as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs and later had a four-year stint as the head coach at Syracuse.

"We're saddened to learn of the passing of Greg Robinson. On behalf of the Syracuse Athletics family, we send our condolences and support to Laura and the entire Robinson family," said Syracuse athletic director John WIldhack.

Robinson started his coaching career as an assistant at Pacific and Cal State Fullerton before landing his first job in major college football as the linebackers coach at N.C. State in 1980. From there, he coached at UCLA before getting a job with the Jets, who later promoted him to defensive coordinator.

Following his time with the Jets, Robinson spent six seasons with the Broncos and three seasons with the Chiefs before returning to the college ranks as the defensive coordinator for Mack Brown at Texas. He spent just one year at UT before landing at Syracuse his first head-coaching job.

At Syracuse, Robinson took over for longtime Orange head coach Paul Pasqualoni and could never get things going. Syracuse had a 10-37 record with three just conference wins during Robinson’s four-year tenure.

Robinson later coached at Michigan, had a second stint at Texas and closed out his coaching career with a two-season run as San Jose State’s defensive coordinator. He retired following the 2015 season. Robinson’s final game was SJSU’s 27-16 win over Georgia State in the Cure Bowl.